Years can't erase memories of beloved teammate, friend, son

Eleven years have passed since the terribly sad news arrived that Daniel Teicheira, a star football player at Sierra High School, had died in a single-car accident near his home on Union Road.

Lori Gilbert

Eleven years have passed since the terribly sad news arrived that Daniel Teicheira, a star football player at Sierra High School, had died in a single-car accident near his home on Union Road.

He was 16, two weeks shy of his birthday and couple months away from starting his junior year of high school. He had "big future" written all over his football resume and "good friend" tattooed on the hearts of those who knew him.

Those friends rallied after his death and found the perfect outlet for their grief. They raised money to complete the unfinished football stadium at Sierra and lobbied to have it named in his honor.

His graduating class, of 2004, was the first to receive its diplomas in the stadium that bears his name.

Memories of Daniel Teicheira didn't end there, of course.

They're always with his parents - Frank and Nancy - and older brothers, Frankie, Steven and Ryan, and close friends. They're uttered during football season when games are played at Sierra, or his records as a running back fall.

Even friends who have moved on, graduated from high school and college and are starting families of their own, haven't forgotten their friend.

So much money was raised in Daniel Teicheira's memory at the time of his death that his parents started a bank account with it, wanting to keep it out of the Manteca Unified School District budget. They've paid taxes on it every year. Since 2004 they've used it to give scholarships to graduates of Sierra. The first group, given to members of his Class of 2004, went to friends, boys and girls, who'd played football with him or were involved in seeing the stadium project through.

Since then, the scholarship has gone to football players who exemplified Daniel Teicheira's work ethic, his commitment to the team - which included taking his linemen out to dinner after he'd had a big running game - and his dedication to other groups and events on campus.

"I coach at Sierra, and the players know the name, because it's on the scoreboard," said Ryan Teicheira, now 30, who celebrated Father's Day as a first-time father on Sunday, his son Daniel having been born almost four months ago. "I want them to buy into the scholarship as well, to get to know a little about him. It's nice to know a few every year will get to hear the story about him, and that he keeps on living."

To assure the scholarship continues, the family has created the Daniel Teicheira Memorial Foundation, which was just granted non-profit 501c3 status. It will hold its first fund-raising event since the stadium was built on Saturday.

A golf tournament and dinner are scheduled at Manteca Golf Course. Golf begins at noon and the cost $85 and includes the dinner. Tickets for the dinner, which begins with a social hour at 4:30 p.m., are $40. Raffle and silent auction items include autographed merchandise from the Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants, San Francisco 49ers and San Jose Sharks, Giants tickets, a flat screen TV, wine and gift cards.

Building the bank account to continue the scholarships is the main goal, because not only does the family want to honor Sierra students, it hopes to add scholarships for football players at Manteca and East Union high schools as well.

"When it happened, everybody (in Manteca) pitched in," Ryan Teicheira said. "The majority of help was from Sierra, because of people he knew, people whose lives he touched were mostly from Sierra, but there were Manteca high families and East Union families that contributed."

The accident on July 1, 2002, brought the community together. Rivalries were put on hold as students from all of the schools mourned together. When Teicheira was honored the following fall at a football game, a cheerleader from East Union, whose own football team was playing a game on the other side of town, was at Manteca High to honor Daniel.

Some friends of Daniel Teicheira have remained close to his family since. Nancy and Frank Teicheira learned more about their son after he died than they knew when he was a carefree teenager.

"I went out to the grave site and found a note from a friend," Nancy Teicheira said. "I didn't know what to do, if I should call the parents and say, 'Your kid is really hurting.' It hurt me to know a kid was hurting that bad."

The pain of losing a child never goes away.

"There's still a hole in my heart," Nancy Teicheira said.

Life, though, goes on. She has seven grandchildren, including a granddaughter named Danielle and her latest, Ryan's son, Daniel.

The brothers, years ago, played Roshambo - rock, scissors, paper - to determine who would be allowed to name their children after Daniel.

Ryan, the last of the three to have a child, was the winner.

A math teacher at Venture Academy and football coach at Sierra, Ryan Teicheira and his wife, Jennifer, took on much of the work to establish the non-profit foundation and organize the golf tournament, although a team of about 10 people have played key roles.

Daniel's friend Keith Hernandez was playing golf with Ryan one day and suggested having a tournament. He works for Toyota in the Bay Area, and got the car maker to sign on as a sponsor.

"Now that people are older and can participate in things like this, the time seemed right," Ryan Teicheira ssaid. "It's just a good time to get everybody back together."

Many of them have gathered every year on the anniversary of Daniel Teicheira's death and on his birthday. They remember the sadness as well as the funny stories.

The golf tournament may be tinged with sadness because of its cause, but it's designed for people to have a good time.

Daniel Teicheira didn't play golf. Ryan Teicheira laughs at the memories of the few times they went out, as kids, to hit the ball around. He thinks maybe his younger brother might have taken up the sport at some point.

He would definitely appreciate a gathering of friends for a good time, and would be honored to know his legacy as a young athlete will be honored by future generations of football players carrying on his tradition.

To sign up for the golf tournament, which begins at noon on Saturday or for the dinner, contact Ryan Teicheira at (209) 403-6893.